From Letters to Love
by BlackUnicorn27
Summary: Two nights before the begin of Lily's last year at Hogwarts, Sirius and James decide to have one night of fun and convince her to go to a pub with them. There she meets beautiful Andromeda Black. The two immediately take a liking to one another. Letters are exchanged, a friendship blossoms. Or will it be something more? / LE/AB; femslash
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: Characters and world belong to JKR, not me. I'm just borrowing them for this story.**_

**AN: Hello peeps! This multi chap is written for** **the_ Make Me Beautiful Challenge _and the_ One Million Added Words Competition _over on HPFC.**

**This is only the start, but I plan on continuing it. I really need to write more and I also should finish one of my stories for once! So here I am, giving it another go. I hope you will like this story and maybe give me some feedback.**

**Happy reading, folks! :)**

_**From Letters to Love**_

_**Chapter One**_

Lily poked around in her sundae as she sat across from James and Sirius in Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour,

James looked at her, his lower lip stuck out and eyes that could match those of a begging puppy.

"Come on, Lils! One night of fun, before we have to go back to Hogwarts."

"Yeah, Lily! You'll miss out on all the good stuff if you keep burying your nose in all those dusty books," Sirius chimed in.

She was about to tell him that books are the good stuff for her when he continued, "And Andy will be there too. You know, my favorite cousin! You've got to meet her, I promise you'll love her!"

She really didn't want to go. A 'night of fun' probably meant a night of stinky bars and alcohol and Lily wasn't sure she wanted to deal with two drunk Gryffindors.

She knew they wouldn't let this go if she just plainly refused, so she tried to come up with a believable excuse, "Look, boys, I would really like to come, but we're going to leave for school in two days and I still need to finish packing..."

She hoped that would be enough for them to leave it be, but apparently she had fooled herself, for instead of accepting what she was telling them, James and Sirius started laughing.

"Think of something better Lils," James chuckled, "All of us know that you have already finished packing a week ago. You're coming and that's that. Let yourself loosen up a little!"  
She looked over at Sirius who nodded approvingly, before he added, "And you don't want my cousin to be the only girl amongst us, do you?"

She didn't see what would be wrong with that. At Hogwarts, Lily was usually the only girl amongst the Marauders, and most of the time it didn't bother her any. But then again, at Hogwarts the boys weren't drinking.

She sighed, "All right, I'll come. But I am not going to touch any alcohol."

"Fine by me," Sirius murmured. James smiled brightly and looked at her with a happy glint in his eyes. "Awesome!" he said.

"Awesome," Lily muttered sarcastically, not at all happy at how this conversation had turned out.

She was happy she hadn't dressed up, when she was standing outside the shabby muggle pub where she was supposed to meet with the boys, later that evening.

Soon enough the two of them turned up also still dressed in their clothes from earlier.

Both of them hugged her, but she quickly broke away from James' embrace when she saw him move in to kiss her cheek.

She didn't miss the disappointed look in his eyes, but decided to ignore it.

The last few years she hinted to him that she wasn't interested in pursuing any kind of romance with him, but he just didn't seem to get it.

The three of them entered the pub and Sirius walked immediately over to two people sitting at the bar. When Lily and James got closer she finally got a closer look of them. Sirius was shaking the hands of a young man. Tall, handsome with light hair. He was obviously a wizard, but he looked like he didn't quite belong into the wizarding world. He had is arm around a woman. You couldn't say girl, because, while she was rather young, she was most definitely a woman. She was cury, had luscious lips and silky dark hair that was plaited into a beautiful French braid. She was dressed in a dark purple sheath dressed that hugged her body perfectly. Yes, this was definitely a woman; and she was truly beautiful.

The way Sirius hugged her she could only guess that the woman was his cousin. When they broke free from their embrace the lady looked at James and Lily and smiled. It was a brilliant smile. "You must be Lily and James," she said, "I am Andromeda, Sirius' cousin." She embraced them and planted a kiss on both of their cheeks. Her lips burned on Lily's skin and she could feel the blush creeping upon her face. Her cheeks were probably as red as her hair right now.

She smiled sheepishly and murmured, "Nice to meet you, Andromeda."

"It's my pleasure," Andromeda responded and her voice sent shivers down Lily's spine.

Lily was utterly amazed by the effect the woman had on her as she had never felt anything like it before. Whether it was admiration or something else, she didn't know, but she was sure that this would prove to be an interesting night.


	2. Chapter 2

_**AN: Hello peeps! Here's the second chapter of 'From Letters to Love'! It took me like an eternity to get this done. I wanted it to be up on last sunday, but I got stuck while writing. Today I finally got to finish it!  
Have fun reading and as always: Feedback would be appreciated! :)**_

_**CHAPTER 2**_

The boys and Lily each sat down at the bar, with Lily coincidentally being seated between James and Andromeda.

The latter looked at Lily's attire, smiled and stated, "I seem to be a bit overdressed."

Lily went beet red. '_I must look like a hobo next to her,' _she thought.

"No, not at all you, uh, you look really nice, actually." she stuttered.

Andromeda chuckled, her eyes twinkling when she did, "Thank you, Lily. But I still think that dress isn't quite the suitable apparel for this," she looked around, "establishment."

Lily smiled. She couldn't explain it, but she felt really comfortable in the presence of this woman. Andromeda glimpsed at the man sitting next to her, "Ted apparently didn't deem it necessary to tell me where exactly we would be going, so I could dress properly. He merely said we were going out."

"Maybe he just wanted to show you off!" Sirius, who was sitting on Ted's other side, grinned. The man in question just nodded and tightened his hold on Andromeda.

Lily narrowed her eyes as she looked at his hand on Andromeda's waist. She didn't like it. Why, she couldn't say, but she definitely didn't like it.

She felt James try to take her hand, but she quickly pulled it away, desperately entwining er fingers with each other.

She didn't even look over at him, knowing exactly what it was that she would see.

"So," James spoke up after a while, looking expectantly at the others, "Where are the drinks? We're here for fun, right!"  
"Absolutely!" Sirius agreed, "We need some gas here!"

He turned to Ted, "What's the strongest stuff those muggles have?"

Ted suggested they start with a few shots of tequila to which James and Sirius, knowing as good as nothing about muggle liquor, eagerly agreed. True to her word, Lily didn't even take a sip of alcohol and neither did Andromeda, both of them opting for a glass of water.

Lily noticed that after only a few shots the boys were already getting louder, their speech becoming more slurred by the minute. She shook her head, this was exactly the reason she didn't want to come.

Sirius suggested they play a game of darts and soon the guys were off, leaving the two women alone at the bar.

"They're impossible," Andromeda muttered.

"Well," Lily said, "They _are_ boys, so.."

They watched the men for a while, until Andromeda engulfed the other girl in conversation.

"So, Lily Evans," she started, a right smirk on her face, "how long have you been with handsome Mr. Potter?"

Lily's face flushed, for at least the third time that evening, and she began stammering, "James? No no no no, he and I...I mean he's not...We're not a couple."

'_Why am I stuttering like an idiot? For God's sake stop it, Lily! What is it about this woman that has you so...flustered?'_ her thoughts scolded her.

"You're not?" Andromeda's face was marked with a genuine look of surprise, "I just figured, because of the way he looked at you and always seemed to sit rather close to you."

"He fancies me," Lily sighed.

"But you do not return those...feelings?" Andromeda inquired with a knowing smile.

Lily let out a laugh. Not a happy laugh; a dry one, dripping with sarcasm. Actually, it was more like a huff than a laugh.

"No I don't. I absolutely don't." she stated.

"Why ever not, if I may ask? I mean, he seems nice. He is handsome. A talented Quidditch player, from what Sirius has told me. Isn't he exactly the type of guy every girl desires?"

"Well I'm not every girl!" Lily snapped and regretted it one moment later when she saw the other woman wince.

_'Great! Now I'm snapping at her!'_ she scolded herself, _'what in the bloody hell is wrong with me tonight?'_

"I'm sorry," Andromeda mumbled, averting her eyes, clearly put off by Lily's outburst, "I didn't mean to offend you."

Lily put a comforting hand on Andromeda's shoulder. The skin there was warm and soft and it made her fingers tingle.

"You didn't," she reassured, "I'm the one who's sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you. It's just...it's a sore subject."

"I gathered." the other witch said.

After a few seconds of silence Lily wondered, whether she had already ruined this friendship before it had a chance to begin.

Her worries were soon cast aside, when Andromeda smiled once again.

"Let's change topics then." she said, "My cousin told me you were a very gifted witch."

Sirius had said that? She never would have thought. After all it was him and James who always teased her and Remus about their studying.

"Well," Lily blushed, "I wouldn't say that. I'm fairly good at potions and charms, but..."  
"I think," Andromeda stated determinedly, "that you should give yourself more credit. I bet you are very talented."  
Lily had been blushing before, but now she believed to look like a volcano ready to burst. She didn't understand why exactly, but she felt extremely proud, yet a bit embarrassed that Andromeda had complimented her.

She wanted Andromeda to like her.

But why? She couldn't even explain why she took to Andromeda so much. Yes, she was very nice and pleasant to talk to, but what did she really know about that woman other than that she was with Ted and that she was Sirius' cousin? Nothing. She didn't know Andromeda at all, yet she liked her.  
There just was something about her that she couldn't explain. Something...magical. But what was it?

She truly couldn't tell.

"What is it like being muggleborn?"  
Lily frowned, not entirely sure how to take that question.

"I mean," Andromeda continued, "You have a whole different background. A life outside our society. What is that like? Ted tells me a lot of things, but surely it must be different for everybody."

Lily wasn't used to people asking about her roots without making fun of her, but Andromeda sounded truly interested, so she told her.

She told her of her childhood in Cokeworth, her family's house and her childhood friends. She explained to Andromeda what kind of things children learned at muggle schools and how much different it was from classes at Hogwarts. She talked about her family, her parents, her pretentious older sister Petunia whom she still loved dearly, and her first meeting with Severus Snape. Then she came to the part where she received her Hogwarts acceptance letter. She remembered how it felt to become part of something as special and extraordinary as the wizard community, to be one of those few people who had the opportunity to join a whole new world, a different society.

Andromeda mostly smiled during Lily's story, she occasionally furrowed her brow in confusion or shook her head at how weird some muggle antics seemed.

"Wow," she said once Lily was finished, "What a shame I didn't take up muggle studies at Hogwarts. It all sounds so interesting. I can't imagine how life must be without magic. Ted introduced me to this electricy-thing. It's so strange."  
Lily laughed, "You mean electricity."  
Andromeda lifted her eyebrow, "That's what I said."

The younger witch just shook her head, laughing.  
"Anyway," Andromeda continued, "I asked Ted to explain it, but he said it was too complicated."  
"Well," Lily said, "It is rather complicated. Most muggles don't even get it. Myself included. But most people don't really care to know the details of electricity, they're just glad it exists. It's the same with magic. We all use it and are happy about it, but we don't really ask why it works the way it does."

And so they chatted away about muggles, their technologies and compared it to the wizarding world. All the way they were laughing and smiling.

Lily felt more and more comfortable with Andromeda as time dragged on.

In the meantime the boys had returned to the bar, but were stuck in their own conversation, drinking one shot after the other.

Soon enough, when it was well past 3AM, Ted decided to call it quits. They paid for their drinks, left the bar (or rather stumbled out of it in James' and Sirius' case) and bid their farewells. Andromeda engulfed Lily in a hug and, again, got to feel those warm lips on her cheeks.  
She was happy nobody could see her blush.

"Have fun at Hogwarts," Andromeda smiled sincerely. She had promised Lily to write her when the latter would be back at school and Lily really looked forward to it.

Andromeda really was something else.


End file.
